


i see the truth (my heart, it haunts me)

by Anonymous



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Basically Original Show Gwen, Ben Tennyson Has ADHD, Ben Tennyson Is A Nerd, Ben Tennyson Is Awkward, Ben is 16 instead of 15, Canon Rewrite, Divergent Timeline, Gwen Tennyson Is An Unapologetic Feminist Genius, Kevin Levin Is Smart, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:34:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23040277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Alternatively: A more mature, queerer take on Alien Force.Six years ago, during the summer Ben got to wear the Omnitrix, he had been crushing on Kevin. Then he got him trapped in the Nullvoid and those feelings got complicated. But he's back now and so is his purpose. Ben has to wear the watch again. How is this going to affect the life he's built?Ben has to deal with old feelings, new ones, complicated family relations, and pining whether his own or Gwen's.Canon Rewrite
Relationships: Ben Tennyson & Gwen Tennyson, Gwen Tennyson/Julie Yamamoto, Kevin Levin/Ben Tennyson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 62
Collections: Anonymous, anonymous





	i see the truth (my heart, it haunts me)

The day had started off great with Ben actually stopping a goal for once. He wasn't a terrible player, he wouldn't be on the team otherwise, but he had never stopped the winning score before.

He was the reason his team had won.

Plus, Ben was pretty sure he had a moment with Carlos Reyes. He had been watching him during the game, standing near Julie, looking amazing in his leather jacket and greased back blond hair, and after the game, he had waited till everyone had left to congratulate Ben.

As Julie, his best friend — only friend really, was hugging him Carlos was watching the two of them, leaning against a tree. After she left is when he came up to him.

"Good job, Benjamin." In that sultry tone should have been illegal.

Ben felt like a fucking star.

But it had taken six years for normalcy to feel worth it.

The watch had made Ben feel special and yeah, at that age it went to his head, making him arrogant and brattish but it was all an attempt to over-compensate. So years without that had left him feeling insecure and vulnerable.

Ben's parents were constantly comparing him to Gwen. Perfect Gwen who got perfect grades, was a part of three school clubs, and competed nationally in Karate tournaments.

Gwen and Grandpa Max were the only two who didn't compare him to someone else, didn't expect him to do more than he was capable of.

But when he went to tell his grandfather the results of the game he wasn't in his trailer. Instead, there was a screeching tentacle monster.

His first instinct was to go for the Omnitrix because the last time he was attacked by an alien he had that _thing_ on his wrist. But he adapted pretty fast, his prior experience having made him excellent at dodging and weaving, as did the abnormally strong creature after him.

It was still clearly not the smartest creature though because the oldest trick in the book worked on it.

Like the overdramatic teen he is, Ben smirked, winking as he said, "peekaboo," and set-off the fire extinguisher, sending the creature flying through the windshield.

The creature was still alive after that but Ben allowed it to run away.

If that tentacled alien was looking for something in his grandpa's RV it was probably hidden far away from the place. But his grandfather could never risk something valuable unknowingly falling into a civilian's hands or worse: being stolen by the enemy without anyone knowing.

His grandfather had a secret spot on the Rustbucket for storing messages, only Ben and Gwen knew about it.

Or so he thought because that message was loaded with double meanings. Too obvious for his grandchildren to miss, too layered for the aliens to understand.

That's what it had to be right?

His grandfather had to be telling him to seek Gwen's help and wear the watch again.

It was the only thing that made sense to Ben.

But then again he wasn't the smart cousin, that was Gwen's area of expertise.

Maybe that's why his grandfather was telling him to visit Gwen, for advice.

He told Gwen as much.

"He always said it was your choice, Ben. No one, not me or him, can tell you what to do. You love that thing but ultimately it put you in so much danger."

"It put _us_ in danger. This affected you just as much as it did me." Ben refuted.

"You're the one who turned into aliens." Gwen rolled her eyes.

"And you're the one who learned magic! Magic is way more permanent than temporarily shape-shifting into aliens because of a watch," Ben's voice turned sour, "they just wanted the watch. If I put this back on and it draws attention, that would be a target on _your_ back. I would only have to deal with people wanting the watch."

"Ben, this is your chance at a normal life. You put that thing back on and that's it for normal. Plus, remember how much trouble we had getting it off the last time?"

"The Omnitrix ain't yours!" A voice interrupted Ben's reply, "give it up!"

Wow, they were found quick. He didn't even get a chance to put on the watch and it was already giving him trouble.

"Not a chance!" Ben yelled with fake bravado as he threw his hands up, ready to protect the watch.

"Ben!" Gwen hissed, dragging him away and towards the side doors.

But they were trapped past that.

"Give it to me, now." The stranger ordered.

"Or what?" Ben taunted because he has no self-preservation. He just knew Gwen was side-eyeing him for that.

"Or this." The stranger declared as he … reached up and pulled off his face?

"Ew, that's so creepy." Ben gagged.

"And anti-climatic." Gwen hummed as her face set in a thin line, she looked like she was gearing up for something. Probably some offensive magic, he'd been helping her practice.

It was actually pretty painful so when asked he told his parents he got the bruises when practising soccer.

Ben tried to use the opportunity to flank the guy but he had quick reflexes because within seconds he had a blaster out and was shooting a warning shot off, near his feet.

"Don't make me use this on you." The alien warned.

"Who's making?" Ben questioned, his voice coming off as scandalized.

"Not fish-face here, that's for sure." Gwen gritted out, her figure oozing anger from where she was hovering above on a platform made of pink energy.

Gwen absolutely destroyed the fishy alien, deflecting his shots with ease and securing him with her magic once the blaster was out of the way.

"You're getting really good at that stuff!" Ben commented, feeling pride swell in his chest.

"Thanks."

As the smiles on both of their faces fell Ben turned to the captured alien, "I want some answers right now, otherwise —"

"Yeah?" The alien questioned looking too smug for someone who was trapped dangling above the ground with no way to escape.

Ben sputtered as he attempted to come up with an answer, "I don't know, I'll over-feed you?"

"Do I look like someone to joke around with?" The fish-face scoffed sounding way too offended, it made Ben wonder how many times someone had made that joke, "I'm a duly-deputized agent of the Plumbers —"

And then Ben's mind blanked as it attempted to process the information.

"We know what they are, our Grandpa Max used to be one." Ben interrupted confused. Then again that seemed to be a permanent state of mind for him.

"Max Tennyson? He was helping me on a case but he went missing."

Gwen and Ben turned to each other, eyebrows furrowed as their faces mirrored the others' worry.

"We're looking for him." Gwen answered.

"Wait, he's your grandfather? You're the legendary Ben Tennyson?"

"I … guess so?" Ben shrugged. He wasn't really that special.

Gwen scoffed, "what am I, chopped liver?"

"I thought you were just some kid who snatched it from the Rustbucket, I guess I owe you an apology." The agent continued, either ignoring Gwen or not understanding her human slang, "if you get me out of this thing maybe we can find your grand-dad together."

Gwen smiled tightly, "if you'd like me to let you go you should probably ask me, not my cousin."

The alien tilted his head, "I see, I apologize. I didn't realize you were the one doing this."

Gwen sighed but not wanting to waste time questioning it let the Plumber go anyways.

Ben stared down at the watch as the fish dude was lowered.

"Are you sure about this?" Gwen put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, knowing her cousin well enough to know what he planned to do.

"I'm sure."

"Now that's done, we can all head to where I was going to go next."

To get to the abandoned railway the alien needed to put his disguise back on so they could flag down a cab, it was awkward but it's not like they had a car.

* * *

"So what are we doing here?" Gwen asked as they got out, Gwen and the Plumber leaving Ben with the duty of paying the driver.

"Stakeout. According to your grandfather the Forever Knights, a group —"

"Who trade in alien technology, yeah, we've dealt with them before. Don't mansplain to me." Gwen said as she rolled her eyes.

"I don't understand that phrase."

"It's fine, dude." Ben said as he patted his back.

"Please never do that again."

"Okay." Ben pouted.

"You were saying?" Gwen fished.

"They're supposed to show up here tonight to receive a shipment of illegal alien tech."

"Isn't that all alien tech?" Ben questioned.

"Only in the wrong hands."

"Where do they get it from?" Gwen asked the important question.

"We don't know, Max was going to tell me before he disappeared."

Ben flinched at the reminder as Gwen's gaze hardened.

"Someone's coming." The Plumber hushed, snapping their attention to focus.

Two large trucks drove in followed by a fancy sports car with a too-loud engine.

As the figure driving the car stepped out Ben's jaw dropped for all the wrong reasons.

"That's Kevin!" Gwen whisper-shouted.

"Mhm." Ben gulped. Why did Kevin freaking Levin have to get so hot?

"You know him?"

Ben swallowed once again, his mouth feeling dry all of a sudden, "yeah. Kevin Levin. He's got powers. I fought him all the time when we were kids."

And totally had a crush on him.

No one knew about that, could ever know about it.

"He ended up trapped in the Nullvoid." Gwen tacked on as she eyed Ben suspiciously — oh shit, she knows. She totally knows.

"Well, he's brokering the deal." The Plumber commented.

"Why not?" Ben shrugged feeling a weird sense of pride, he smirked, "you said it was illegal."

He bit the inside of his cheek as a genuine smile threatened to takeover. Kevin made it out of an interdimensional prison and went back to his old ways, he was still the same.

"Damn, that's hot." Ben muttered as Kevin blew something up using one of the guns.

"Ben!" Gwen scolded, swatting his arm. Well, if she didn't before she did now.

"Yes, it is," both of them turned to the Plumber with grossed out looks on their faces, "those lances are level five tech, Earth is only level two-approved!"

Oh. He meant that hot.

Wait.

"What happened to the whisper?" Ben questioned.

The alien slid down the hill before yelling, "hands above your heads, air-breathers! By authority of the Plumbers, you're all under arrest!"

Ben jumped over the ledge, landing next to the alien as he yelled, "this is a stick-up!"

Gwen sighed before gracefully sliding down the hill, ending up on the other side of the Plumber.

And then all of the suppliers ripped their faces off.

"Ugh, that's so creepy." Gwen conceded.

"Right?"

As the aliens closed in on them they backed away, the Plumber used his blaster to start a fire between them and the aliens.

The aliens rushed back.

"What now?" Gwen asked.

"Stand-off."

Ben looked behind them.

"I don't think that's going to work — the other guys are behind us."

"Well, that's unfortunate."

"We're so screwed." Ben sighed.

"No, we're not! You have the watch, Ben!" Gwen yelled.

"Oh, right," Ben popped up the watch before smashing it down, "give me something good!"

But the watch just beeped and turned blue.

" _Ben_?" Gwen questioned.

" _Watch_." It was _always_ the fucking watch, wasn't it?

As the wall of fire went down the tentacle aliens and Forever Knights moved in on them. Ben kept messing with the watch as Gwen and the Plumber took down a few guys.

"Ben, seriously?" Gwen huffed as she magically blasted a guy who had been aiming for him.

"This is a really bad time for a reboot." Ben swore under his breath.

He hated this damn watch.

"I got nothing." Ben informed Gwen as he continued getting blue-screened.

"Whatever." Gwen rolled her eyes before taking down five guys using one of the knights as a bowling ball.

Okay, so she got really good at the offensive magic.

But even Gwen could only do so much so she started creating a magical barrier instead, but every time she created a new one it only lasted a few seconds before they blunt-forced it down.

The Plumber managed to buy them some time by defending the other side.

Then an alien lunged at Ben and he was forced to run away, getting chased down as Gwen and the Plumber got spit at. Which, ew.

Ben dodged and weaved the sludge-spit flying through the air at him before crushing the alien with a mountain of plyboards.

Ben held a piece of plywood to defend himself as he continued messing with the watch, and then it beeped and changed shape — evolving into a smaller, more streamlined version.

He didn't recognize any of the aliens. So he just smashed his hand down on one of the first options. He didn't know any of them, how was he supposed to be strategic about this? Not that he ever was. That was Gwen's department.

* * *

_Swampfire_.

The name popped into Ben's head like a telepathic echo.

"Ew, what is that smell … is that me?"

Ben ran back to Gwen, yelling as he charged at the rogue creatures, "get away from my cousin!"

The remaining monsters ran back to their truck, attempting to get away so Ben ripped out a metal pole and swung it at the truck, overturning it, "heh, I forgot how cathartic this is."

The Forever Knights took aim, firing the overpowered lances at Ben but they just went right through the new alien.

And then one of them managed to shoot Ben's fucking arm off, "hey!"

It actually didn't hurt?

Gwen gasped, her eyes flickering between their normal shade and pure energy as she blasted off the goop that had been holding her hostage.

No, wait. He was healing as soon as the damage was caused. That much had become obvious when his arm reattached itself. No wonder it didn't hurt, but Gwen was still in _Super Saiyan_ mode.

Gwen took down the Forever Knights near them effortlessly before her eyes flickered back to their normal colour.

Kevin leapt in front of Ben as he was distracted, "hey, Tennyson!"

"W — What do you want?" Ben stuttered as his heart rate picked up, he was so _uncool_.

"Let's see, you trapped me in the Nullvoid for all those years —"

"You did that to yourself!" Ben interrupted petulantly as some confidence ebbed its way through.

"— then you ruined my deal today. I'm thinking I want revenge," Kevin grinned wolfishly, "luckily, I've got more than enough power to take it."

"That's new." Ben muttered as he watched Kevin absorb the metal from a railway track. His whole body had absorbed the steel.

Kevin charged at Ben who attempted to dodge, ultimately missing which ended with Kevin's steel fist stuck in his chest. Ben muttered a quick, "ew", and "sorry", before bringing his hands down on the sides of Kevin's head and kicking him off.

Kevin picked up a shipping container and threw it at Ben, it flattened him which was a weird feeling but his new alien managed to reform behind the gloating figure, "peekaboo."

He punched Kevin which only temporarily dazed him. As soon as he could see and think clearly again Kevin tried to lift up a huge presumably abandoned truck, Ben just blasted it out of his hands. Which resulted in him blacking out.

Ben turned to see that the Plumber had been freed by Gwen but unfortunately the remaining aliens and Forever Knights had escaped with the gear.

The Plumber pulled out a small metal bar, placing it near Kevin's limp hands and pressing a button resulting in energy cuffs materializing.

* * *

As they waited for Kevin to wake up Ben tapped his foot impatiently.

"Ben?"

"Yeah?" Ben looked up at the sound of his cousin's voice.

"We'll find him." Gwen reassured as she threw her arms around him.

Ben's gaze turned determined, "I know."

"This is touching." Someone sneered. Ah, Kevin's awake.

The Plumber was next to the dark-haired teen, presumably having already explained his situation to him.

"You still have stuff in your hair." Kevin added, nodding at Gwen.

"Other side." Ben scrunched up his nose.

"You were just about to tell me where the Forever Knights are stashing these weapons." The Plumber jumped in, trying to steer the conversation back to an important topic.

"Kevin, people are going to get hurt. They only got away because you were trying to fight me." Ben jumped in trying to sway the older teen.

Kevin rolled his eyes at Ben's statement before clicking his tongue and standing up, "don't mistake this for me having a heart of gold. I ain't a snitch, I just want my payment."

The Plumber pressed the button, dematerializing the cuffs.

"Wait, how are we going to get there?" Ben questioned confused.

"Really, Tennyson? I have a car." Kevin sighed.

"Perfect, you can give me directions as I drive the vehicle." The Plumber started walking towards the ride.

"Nuh-uh, buddy. Nobody drives the car but me." Kevin's arm shot out to grab the Plumber, explaining through gritted teeth.

"You're not in charge here —" The Plumber started.

"Neither are you," Ben jumped in, "so let him drive or Gwen's gonna' trap you again."

"Thanks, Tennyson." Kevin smirked as he looked Ben up and down before getting in the driver's seat.

"Was that a look, I think that was a look?" Ben looked back and forth between Kevin and Gwen.

"No, even if it was — and I'm not saying it is," Gwen added at Ben's excited expression, "he's Kevin Levin, Ben. You can't."

Ben pouted but followed Gwen and silently got in the car regardless.

The Plumber was seated right next to Kevin, leaving Gwen and Ben in the back seat.

Kevin started up the car, after a minute or two of silence the alien spoke up, "I still think I should drive."

"You want to get out? I'll throw you out myself!" Kevin exclaimed his grip on the steering wheel turning tight.

"So, the aliens? What can you tell us about the tentacled creatures?" Ben asked, trying to distract all parties.

"Tentacled creatures? What is this, hentai?" Kevin raised an eyebrow at Ben through the mirror.

"So you still watch anime then?" Ben commented.

"The creatures?" Gwen pulled the conversation back.

"I don't know anything about them, I've never met them before."

"Great —" Ben started but was silenced when Gwen put her hand over his mouth. Ben licked her hand causing Gwen to retreat in disgust. A thought occurred to Ben so he started switching through the Omnitrix options, "I don't see them on the watch."

"Well, you don't have all aliens on there in the first place. And it's different now, you'll need to relearn the controls." Gwen reassured although she was still hesitant to touch Ben.

"Maybe after you get your license, short-stuff." Kevin snorted.

"Who won our fight again?" Ben smirked at Kevin's eye-roll.

"There's a surge in alien activity on Earth. Your grandfather thought that the weapons deal would explain the sudden interest, this is a primitive planet after all." The Plumber interrupted causing twin glares to be thrown in his direction, not that he noticed.

At the mention of his grandfather Ben's grin faltered, he could see Kevin watching him from the rearview mirror.

"Now he's missing, probably dead." The Plumber tacked on.

"He's not dead!" Ben yelled, his anger fading when he notices the flickering of Gwen's eyes. She seems to calm down when he does though.

"I apologize, I assumed the great Ben Tennyson would be above the chains of emotions."

The humans in the car sighed collectively.

"I know you're worried about Grandpa, I am too. But he's tough, remember? It's in our blood." Gwen whispered to Ben when the silence seemed to be too much for him.

"I just wish he was here, he always knows what to do. I feel like a fish out of water." Ben responded, attempting to whisper as well but he has no volume control.

"Well he isn't, you're the one with the Omnitrix, you'll have to figure out how to do things on your own." The Plumber responded.

"No one asked you, fish-face." Kevin responded before either Ben or Gwen could.

"Thanks, Kevin." Ben muttered, his face warm.

Gwen was staring at Kevin, watching him with calculating eyes as Ben smiled down at the floor of the car.

After a few minutes, Kevin alerted them to their arrival, "we're here."

"Suttle, no one would think to look for Knights in a giant freaking castle." Ben snorted.

"You didn't." Kevin raised a bushy eyebrow.

"Stop doing that." Ben huffed kicking Kevin's seat lightly.

Kevin's eyebrow twitched as he looked actually annoyed at that, "do that again and I'll pummel you to the ground."

"You tried, remember?" Ben retorted.

"How do we get in?" The Plumber asked, head turned in Kevin's direction.

"Through the door?" Kevin shrugged.

"Ugh, I'll handle this." Gwen rolled her eyes before gracefully getting out of the car. Within a few steps, she was right in front of the giant door, hauling it down with her magic.

When they were inside Gwen piped up, "there's no one here, are you sure this is the right place?"

"There's a hidden door keep looking." Kevin replied but he was clearly distracted by something else.

Ben walked over to him only to find the teen stuffing his pockets with gold.

Ben rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he commented, "maybe you should have brought a shopping cart?"

"Maybe. Then I'd be able to go home with enough gold to make this trip with you worth it." Kevin gave him a toothy grin.

"Oh, fuck you."

Kevin snickered, he seemed to know the perfect response to that but shook his head, instead choosing to say, "didn't know you could swear Tennyson."

"You have no idea what I can do." Ben scoffed, not sensing the double meaning to his words.

Kevin groaned, "why do you have to make this so hard?"

"What — you started it!" Ben said aghast.

"Boys! Can you actually help?" Gwen barked, annoyed.

"Yessir'." Kevin saluted in a bored tone before going over to Gwen's side.

Ben went over to the area lined with modelled sets of armours, it was creepy, to say the least. They looked like they were telling a story. And then his clumsy ass walked into one of the display suits, sending it tumbling down in a noisy crash.

"Come on, Tennyson, what are you doing?" Kevin face-palmed as Gwen looked at him with a pained expression, the Plumber was just staring blankly.

"Sorry —" Ben started but was interrupted by the sound of a growl behind him.

Of course, it was a dragon. Why couldn't it be something simple? Like harmless butterflies.

They all ran away from the dragon, obviously, but their efforts were futile as they only led them to Forever Knights who seemingly showed up out of nowhere.

This place was empty before! Where were they all? Were they having a group dinner or something? Ben hasn't even had dinner yet! He's starving! Some chilli fries and a smoothie sounded really good, right now.

"Nobody move!" One of the knights declared, brandishing his weapon.

"Make me." Kevin smirked, cracking his knuckles before throwing his hands on the floor and absorbing the stone.

"That's why they have weapons, Kevin, to make you —" Ben blurted out, sounding a bit hysterical.

Kevin lifted up the entire floor, throwing it back down as if he were fluffing a pillow.

The first wave of knights were thrown off, but they still had the rest to deal with. Gwen created a shield to protect them from the remaining knights, the ones with the guns. The Plumber used his blaster to take out a few of them.

Ben turned around as he messed with his watch, allowing him to notice the giant dragon still charging at them.

"Oh, crap!"

How did they forget about the dragon? It's a freaking dragon!

Ben slammed his hand down on the watch transforming into another alien as he charged at the dragon, he had to keep it away from the others.

_Echo Echo_.

Ben and his duplicates jumped on the dragon, sending it tumbling down.

As Ben and the echoes kept the dragon down the others took down the knights, with Gwen doing a bit more of the work. She was just that powerful.

But then the dragon threw Ben off so he had to improvise, instinctually using one of the alien's abilities, a localized blast of frequency. Like Dinah's _Canary Cry_.

It was super effective!

The dragon, apparently a robot, crumbled to pieces and said pieces exploded. It was a bit creepy if Ben was being honest.

"You could warn somebody next time you do that." Kevin grunted.

"Seriously, I hate to agree with Greased Lightning over here but I've got a pair of earphones in my pocket."

"Sorry … wait, your skirt has a pocket?" Ben pouted.

"Of course."

They gathered the weapons and threw them in a pile so Ben could destroy them. Gwen putting on her earphones beforehand while the others covered their ears.

It exploded into dust.

Ben transformed back as he noticed a dripping sound.

"Hey," the water was coming from the Plumber, "are you okay? There's water leaking out of your suit."

"It's not water, I'm dying." The Plumber looked calm as if this hadn't taken him on by surprise and he had already accepted the situation.

"What?" Ben's eyes bulged out.

"Ben, listen to me —"

"I've got a tire patch kit in the car, maybe we could —" Kevin interrupted his eyes wild and panicked.

"— there's no time for that, it's too late. Ben, finish the job, find out where the tech is coming from. I'm not done," he added when Ben opened his mouth, "there's more. Your grandfather was on the trail of something big. A conspiracy, with Earth in the middle, he was undercover. If you want to find your grandfather you have to finish what he started."

And then he faded to dust, his life was squeezed out of him like a prune.

Gwen blinked a few times, before muttering, "shit."

"Damn it!" Kevin yelled before slamming his naked hand on the floor.

Ben was frozen, staring at the empty vessel where a lifeless corpse should have been. There wasn't even any proof of this guy's existence, he was just gone. Ben gasped for air as a weight pressed down on his chest, tears were running down his cheeks.

"Ben, you need to breathe." Someone was telling him, but it sounded weird to him. It was like his brain couldn't process the sound at the moment, all he could hear was a ringing.

"I can't!" He choked out.

"Yes, you can. You need to focus on something, anything other than that weight."

Ben dug his nails into the palms of his hands, focusing on the pain. He didn't even realize it because he was so focused on not being able to breathe but his vision was blurry, as it cleared up he realized one of them had moved the suit.

His knees must have buckled at one point because he had ended up on the floor somehow. Kevin must have been the one talking Ben through whatever that was because he was holding Ben.

"I can't do it without my grandpa, I don't know how." Ben mumbled dejectedly.

Kevin was silent for a while before he sighed, pushing himself up, coming to stand in front of Ben, "you're the one they regarded as legendary, but you never did it alone."

"Thanks —"

"Shut it, Tennyson, I'm trying to help you out here," Kevin rolled his eyes, "okay, so, you had your Grandpa Max and Gwen to help you the first time. Now you have Gwen and me. You're not alone. You weren't back then and you aren't now. I'm not going to lie and pretend it's exactly the same but you aren't as alone as you're feeling."

Ben smiled tentatively, "so you're not leaving then? There's no money in this."

"Don't make me repeat myself." Kevin clicked his tongue as he held a hand out for Ben to pull himself up.

"If you guys are done, I have an idea." Gwen piped up from behind them before tossing the Plumber's badge to Kevin.

"Thanks." Kevin mumbled as he caught it with ease.

"I think I can find the alien lair."

"What? How?" Ben furrowed his eyebrows.

"I've been practising a tracking spell, I've never done it on this scale before but I just need one of those lances and I can track it back to the aliens."

"Too bad we destroyed all of those — _Kevin_." Ben scolded at the sheepish look on Kevin's face.

"I kept one as a souvenir, lucky, huh?" He smirked at Ben's doubtful look.

"Whatever. Gwen, what do you need?"

* * *

The drive to the underground hideout was a rocky one, Kevin kept freaking out, worried about his car's paint job.

Ben kept having to hold his tongue, he'd nearly called Kevin cute about ten times.

As they arrived, Ben and Kevin bickered over the best way to get past the guard, but when they looked up Gwen had already knocked him out.

When Ben remarked that Gwen had hit him too hard Kevin had rolled his eyes and pulled off the alien's mask. Ben thinks his point still stands, they can't be brutes just because someone's an alien.

The elevator ride down was quiet, what could possibly be below ground in a mineshaft?

None of them were expecting a giant alien control centre.

"Big." Kevin remarked.

"It's the mothership." Gwen explained the obvious, she did that sometimes.

"Grandpa Max has to be in there!" Ben realized, getting worked up. He got up but Gwen pulled him back down.

"So, how do we get in?" Kevin questioned, nodding in the direction of the many aliens going about their routine.

"The mask, we should be able to rewire it or change the settings somehow." Gwen huffed.

"I can probably figure it out." Kevin said as he looked down at the mask in his hand.

After Kevin finished adjusting it Ben placed the mask on his face, "how do I look?"

Kevin smirked, "about the same, a lot taller though."

They continued bickering as Gwen brought out a cart, the same cart the other aliens were using.

"Get in."

* * *

"Hey, how's it going?"

"What's up?"

"I owe you a call!"

Maybe he should have given this job to Kevin.

"End of the line." Ben commented as they reached the end of the delivery route.

"Ugh, it's freezing in here — I owe you a call?" Kevin repeated incredulously.

"I'm awkward, I'm sorry!" Ben huffed, "it is cold though."

"Don't be such babies," Gwen shushed them, "I'm going to see if I can find Grandpa."

Gwen's eyes glowed pink as she psychically searched the tower for any sign of their grandfather. She seemed like she was radiating warmth, maybe it was because of the magic?

As the pink faded Gwen's face fell looking mournful, "I'm sorry Ben, Grandpa was here weeks ago but he's not here now."

"So we can leave now, right?" Kevin shivered.

His lips set in a determined line, "no, we have to finish the mission. That's how we'll find him."

Using Gwen's psychic search they find the weapon's room with ease. Ben suggested destroying all of the weapons immediately but Gwen vetoed that idea, in hindsight that would have gotten them caught immediately.

Instead, Gwen levitates all of the weapons out of the room, planning to put it into the cart they had used earlier.

"We should just leave, right?"

"I don't know, Gwen. Something tells me that glowing red tube is powering something really bad."

"Good point, Ben." Gwen responded.

"Hey, remember when that Forever Knight shot that unstable lance earlier?" Kevin brought up but Ben hadn't witnessed what he was talking about.

"Yeah?" Gwen raised an eyebrow, wondering where he was going with this.

"Well, if you made all of these weapons unstable when you destroy them the blast should be big enough to take out the power source. No power means this ship is useless so the aliens will probably leave and so can we."

"Huh, that's actually a smart plan." Gwen sounded impressed.

* * *

The plan goes smoothly except for the bit where the aliens all charge into the control room instead of abandoning the ship.

They underestimated their hive-mind way of thinking.

"This will be fun." Kevin cracked his knuckles.

Ben dodges a swipe, punching the alien in the face with his bare fist.

"Save some for me, these tentacle creeps cost me a huge payment," at the look on Ben's face Kevin tacks on, "also because they're evil and we're against that."

Gwen manages to slam a few heads together as Ben's messing with the Omnitrix.

He gets to try out another new creature, this one is called _Humongosaur_. Humongosaur like his name suggests is huge and almost dino-like with his spine, tail, and hoof-like feet.

Although, Ben does end up sludged to the ground so he has to walk around with cement stuck to his hand, using it to take out the creatures until Gwen can dissolve it.

They end up knocking out most of the creatures pretty easily although Kevin does nearly take one of the alien's head clean off.

It's clear that none of the creatures are the head honcho, whoever that was had to have retreated.

"Can we please eat now?" Ben begs once they're out of the ship and above-ground.

"I could go for a burger and milkshake." Kevin responds, looking straight ahead.

"Oh, fine. I'll break my diet just this once." Gwen says.

"Yes!" Ben fist-pumps the air before running back to Kevin's car and hopping in.

He notices Gwen stop Kevin from following him, grabbing his bicep and saying something to him before letting go and walking to the car herself.

Kevin looks confused, not angry or hurt, so Gwen didn't say anything too harsh. She must have been trying to help him out somehow but Ben would never know what she said unless either party tells him and he doubts that would happen.

For now, he finally gets to have some chilli fries, and he damn well deserves it.

* * *

"How many fries are you planning to eat? Shouldn't you be having a burger with that at least?" Kevin raised an eyebrow at Ben's tray.

"It's only three packets of chili fries."

"Ugh, that three too many." Gwen threw in.

"Gwen, you're literally having a veggie burger and iced tea! Don't talk to me about disgusting food." Ben shook his head at his cousin's antics.

Ben can tell Gwen is about to reply when her eyes land on something by the door.

"Oh, look! There's Julie!" Gwen jumps in, eyes lit with excitement.

Ah, right. Ben's best friend who is also the object of Gwen's attraction.

"Crush." Ben mouthed at Kevin, causing the older teen to snort.

"What?" Gwen asked as Ben waved Julie over.

"Nothing just took too big a bite."

"Hey, Ben!"

"Hey, Julie. I thought you were busy studying?" Ben asked.

"I needed brain food," Julie looks around the table, her eyes landing on Gwen, "hi, Gwen."

"Hi. You should try the veggie burger, it's good."

"I was going to have the fish burger, maybe next time. Actually, you should join me."

"Yes! I mean … yes, that sounds great."

After Julie walks away to order her food Ben whispers to Gwen who is still grinning, "did you just get asked out?"

Gwen's grin falls, flipping to a frown made harsher by her furrowed brows, "no, Ben. It's just me grabbing food with a friend."

After a short pause, Gwen continues, "it's called hanging out," rolling her eyes, "not that you would know."

Sheesh. Ben says nothing to that and just awkwardly stuffs his mouth with fries, looking away from Gwen, watching the front door.

Gwen tries too hard to be funny, so her jokes often cross the line into harsh territory. Gwen may be smarter and better at focusing but Ben was the one better at socializing.

His reflection is interrupted by Carlos Reyes walking in.

"Oh, shit." Ben swears, dipping his head down.

"Ben?"

"Hide me, Gwen!" He whispers harshly, his desperation evident.

"What?" Kevin questions, confused, sipping on his milkshake now.

A few minutes pass so Ben decides to ask, "is he gone?"

"Who?"

"Ugh, _Gwen_!"

"Answer the damn question if you want to know, Ben!" Gwen whispers but it comes out more like a snap.

"Fine, um. Blond, probably in a black leather jacket — I bet he sleeps in that thing. His hair is always slicked back but the sides are kind of shaved."

"Oh, uhm … Ben, he's walking over."

Ben stilled but his head remained buried in Gwen's arm.

"Benjamin."

"Shit," Ben mutters before whipping his head up, "Carlos Reyes."

"That is my name yes."

Kevin scoffed into his milkshake but was ignored.

"Uhhhh — oh right, Carlos, this is —" Ben stumbled over his words before he waved over in Gwen's direction.

"Gwendolyn Tennyson, your cousin, and I presume her boyfriend." Carlos smiled, shaking the bag of food he was holding slightly.

"Uhhhhhh, sure."

Gwen and Kevin whipped their heads away from their silent conversation to stare at Ben, gaping.

"You're cute, well, I need to go home so I'll be leaving now."

"Bye," Ben waved still in shock and then added softly, mostly for his benefit, "what just happened?"

Once he was far enough away Gwen and Kevin let out two equally scandalized mutterings of, " _Ben_ ," in sync.

" _I'm sorry_ , I blanked."

He never said he was actually good at talking to people, just better.

"So …" Kevin started looking uncertain and sour, "was he an ex or something?"

"Carlos? No way," Ben said before adding, "he probably doesn't even like me."

"Dude, he literally called you _cute_." Kevin shook his head at Ben.

"Don't 'dude' me." Ben scowled and threw a single french fry at Kevin in response.

"You're such a kid, Tennyson."

"At least I'm not a criminal." Ben retorts unthinkingly.

"Hey, that's ex-criminal now. Since I'm going to be hanging with you freaks." Kevin corrected, still smiling, seemingly unbothered by being called a criminal.

"Until a better opportunity comes along?" Gwen asks with a single shaped eyebrow raised.

"No." Kevin's answer is firm and quick, not a single drop of hesitation is evident.

After a minute of silence, Ben adds in, "good."

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED …**

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when I rewatch a show and cannot take a romance *cough* Gwen/Kevin *cough* seriously and keep thinking certain characters have a lot of insane tension.
> 
> Ben is such a disaster gay, you cannot convince me otherwise!
> 
> No one: ...   
> Me: Ben is clearly a disaster gay with ADHD.
> 
> K: "I'll follow you anywhere."  
> Me: *side-eyeing kid in car meme*
> 
> Changes made include: a six-year time skip instead of five meaning Ben is sixteen, obviously, certain lines were given to Gwen instead or changed for character continuity. You cannot look me in the eyes and tell me our smart-ass Gwen was gonna grow up to be a "sweet" and submissive girl. Feminism, bitch.
> 
> I am not treating canon as a bible. But! I'll do most of the diverging post-S1. This story will end once the Highbreeds are stopped. (Probably.)
> 
> Yes, Carlos is Julie's replacement but also not really. I am aiming for Gwen/Julie, Carlos is just here for drama.


End file.
